Skaikru Natblida
by SlytherinHatstall
Summary: What if Alpha Station allowed Polaris to dock instead of launching a missile at it? What if Rebecca's lab assistant, Peri Gordon, saved her mentor's research? And what if a young biologist recreated the Nightblood serum before being sent to the ground with the rest of the hundred?
1. Chapter 1

AN: This is my first story! Thanks for reading, y'all. This is an AU where Polaris became the thirteenth station, and most of Becca's research was preserved. Also, I always thought it was a little sketchy that the entirety of Grounder culture and language could've become what it did in only a hundred years, so I've decided to make it four hundred years since the apocalypse.

Note, I don't own this. I did do a bunch of research on radiation and how Nightblood could potentially function, though, so I feel like I put a little bit of original thought into this.

* * *

"This will work, Dee." The tall brunette said as she held the syringe filled with viscous black liquid. "It worked in the mice, and Peri's notes show that it was successfully done by Rebecca Heather."

Dee's dark eyes worried into her friend's profile. "It's been four centuries since that. And Heather was the creator of the AI that caused the apocalypse in the first place! I'm scared for you."

She shook her head, inserting the needle into her arm. "Don't be," she winced as she gradually emptied it into her bloodstream. "All the computer simulations show there won't be any negative effects from this. What I want to know is its limits of effectiveness against radiation, and the solar isn't going to cut it." She wiped the indention with an alcohol wipe before placing a bandage over it. "The virus should be finished within the next ten days, creating enough of the specialized cells in my liver and bone marrow to filter out the radiation. All I need to do is alter my diet to ensure optimal production of the various antioxidants my body can now produce. The serum is enough to jumpstart the necessary levels of glutathione in my liver within the next half-hour."

"God, Allison, you're going to kill yourself." Dee abruptly stood and started pacing. "Why is this even necessary?"

"Deirdre." She deliberately cupped her face in her hands, her thumbs stroking the soft, dark skin. "I'm not going to kill myself. As soon as my body begins exhibiting symptoms, the radiation chamber will shut off and I'll immediately go into decontamination. At worst, I'll get tissue damage to my skin or perhaps my liver. As for why…" she turned and looked out the glass window of the lab, overlooking the earth. "Why wait for our children's children for humanity to reach the ground? It's green, plants can grow there. The earth has the capability to support life now. And if this works, we can all live there."

"This is dangerous."

Allison turned, her golden-brown eyes soft. "No, Dee. This is revolutionary." She gently kissed Dee's lips.

"Allie, please." She pled. "Don't tempt fate like this."

"Dee, fate brought me this. Earth might be dangerous, but up here? We're totally dependent on the glued-together remnants of thirteen space stations. There are thousands of us, and the risk of malfunction… I'm not an engineer. But being so dependent on centuries-old equipment terrifies me." Allison turned to the radiation chamber.

"It looks like a coffin." Dee whispered. "I don't want you to die."

Allison was silent for a minute as she started connecting cables to the glass-covered table. "My vitals will be monitored closely, and I've automated it to shut off immediately if anything goes awry."

She stepped forward, forcefully taking Allison into her arms, their mouths connecting fiercely. "I don't want you to die."

Allison smiled down at her, tears shining in her eyes. "I won't." She pulled away and began connecting electrodes to her skin.

"I… I can't stay, Allison. I can't watch this."

"I'll see you later, then." She opened the chamber and laid inside. "I love you."

Dee blinked tears away. "May we meet again," she whispered, before rushing away.

"May we meet again." Allison murmured as the door swung closed. She took a deep breath. "Computer, begin sequence." She pulled the glass towards her, shutting herself in as the machine whirled to life. The screens set up on the nearby wall lit up, and her eyes focused carefully on the indicator, the needle gradually raising with the radiation levels. A minute passed, then five, and radiation levels were at forty-five percent.

The door swung open, and two armored guards stepped in. "Allison Gordon, you're under arrest for conducting unauthorized experiments and theft of public resources. Turn off the machine."

She remained silent, her eyes unmoving from the monitor.

"Turn off the machine," the guard repeated forcefully.

Her jaw worked, but she remained still.

"Unplug it." He said to his partner.

"Don't!" She warned, still looking at the screen. "The radiation will leak out if you disconnect from its power source." The radiation was now at sixty percent.

"If you won't turn it off, obstructing officers of the law will be added to your charges. You're still a minor, with only a single charge your review board will be much more lenient." He warned.

She bit her lip, tearing her eyes away and looking at the guard. "My life is a small price to pay if this technology can bring us to the ground. And I've exceeded predicted levels of radiation on earth"

Eighty percent.

"Call for backup. Get engineering in here, too." He ordered his companion.

Her vitals began flashing. "Moderate excess of free-radicals in the liver." The computer warned.

"Continue." She ordered.

The guard began banging on the glass. "Miss Gordon, you are now endangering your own life. Please, discontinue."

Ninety percent.

"A hundred and fifty percent of earth radiation." She declared, pride shining in her eyes. "I can bring us to the ground."

"Cell apoptosis is beginning on the sub-dermal level." The computer intoned, just as red, rash-like wounds began appearing in her skin.

The guard stepped back, his brow furrowed.

"Continue." She repeated.

Two more guards, accompanied by Jacapo Sinclair, came in.

"Sinclair, can you turn off this machine?"

"If you turn it off, it won't begin decontamination." He shook his head. "I can jump-start the process though."

"One-hundred percent. Beginning decontamination." The computer intoned.

Sinclair laughed. "Never mind. You don't need me anymore."

A guard nodded. "Very well, I'll escort you out."

"Miss Gordon, will you come quietly?" The guard asked.

"Once the decontamination process is complete." She said resolutely.

* * *

"Allie," Dee rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, her voice trembling. "I thought… I thought maybe they would stop you. I never meant for this… for this to happen." She choked out.

"Dee, It's okay. I know. I knew as soon as they showed up." She pulled away, smiling sadly. "But I proved it. It works. And you know where my notes are, if… if my review doesn't end favorably. It's only six weeks away. But it works, Dee. The black blood works. This generation can be the one to go to the ground."

Dee sniffled, wiping her face. "No. You will get out. Your father's the head chemist. Your mothers on the council. An unauthorized experiment… there were no victims."

"Maybe." She stroked Dee's hair. "Did you pass your exams? Are you officially a mechanic?"

She nodded. "Thanks for helping me study." She giggled softly, her eyes still shining with unshed tears.

"Don't feel guilty. If I…. you know."

"Get floated?" Dee said bitterly.

She pursed her lips. "Yes." She said softly.

"It is my fault, you know." She bit her lip. "I told them what you were doing. I told them where you were doing it. I told them how you took materials from the lab." She started sobbing. "I was trying to save your life, not take it!"

"Dee…"

"No! I did this to you!" she collapsed against Allison's chest. "How can you not hate me?"

"Because… because it worked." She murmured. "They didn't know how to shut it off. I still finished testing the black blood." She held up her arm, her veins black against her pale skin. "I succeeded. And you helped me do that."

"I fucking turned you in! You're going to get floated and I'll get some award for being a 'model citizen' and the woman I wanted to marry is going to suffocate in a vacuum before flying off into space!"

"Dee. I could never hate you." She held her at arms length, staring into her dark eyes. "I love you. And I did this… I did this with the hope that one day, we could go to the ground. I'd been planning my next project, you know. I wanted to figure out how to fertilize an ovum with another ovum. I wanted us to have a child. Children, if we can get to the ground." She smiled softly. "You will get to go to the ground, Dee. You'll find someone else to love. And you'll get to see trees and lakes and mountains."

"I don't want to do it without you." She whispered softly.

A knock on the door signaled their time was up.

"Maybe you won't have to." Allison wiped her tears. "I'm not a danger to the Ark. Chances are I'll be released. Don't worry about it."

* * *

"Prisoner 401, face the wall."

Allison stood, turning to look out her small window, Earth spinning slowly in the distance.

"Hold out your right arm, please."

She did. "What's going on? It's not visitation day."

She felt the cool metal before she felt the spines sink into her skin, and she winced as her newly black blood dripped down to her hand.

"Come along." The guard said, not answering her questions.

She joined a stream of other adolescent delinquents and walked quietly among the commotion. There were sounds of a scuffle a few floors away, and confused chattering of the prisoners.

"Do you know what's going on?" She asked a familiar-looking boy behind her.

"We're being sent to the ground." He whispered furtively.

"What? All of you… you'll die!" She panicked.

"And you won't?" He chuckled.

She smiled grimly. "Do you know what I'm in for?"

He arched an eyebrow.

"Unsanctioned experiments. I made myself highly resistant to radiation, and I stole materials from the labs. I'm more worried about having to watch all of you die, as they clearly didn't consult me about my serum."

He shook his head amusedly, then stuck out his hand. "I'm Wells."

"Allison." She shook his hand. "I'll miss you after you die from ARS."

They were funneled into a docking bay, and when she saw Counsellor Kane standing with Dr. Griffin, she jumped out of line to stand in front of them. "You do know you're killing them, right? Dr. Griffin, you're a doctor! You should know this!"

A guard stepped up to her. "Get back inside."

"You're going to kill all of them!" She shouted, going up into Counsellor Kane's face. "Their bodies can't handle Earth levels of radiation!"

The guard grabbed her arms and started pulling her into the ship, and she kicked his leg in, before swinging her elbow around.

"What do you have to say? You're just standing there? Where's your conscience? I refuse to be the only person alive on the ground! Let me give them my serum! I can save them!"

Dr. Griffin put a gentle hand on her arm. "This is our best chance. We have no choice."

"Fuck you!" She spat. "You're killing them all! You know what I did, Kane! And you both know it works! You're condemning kids to death!"

She felt a pinch in her back, and her last thought before she blacked out was of Dierdre.


	2. Chapter 2

"Allison, wake up."

She shook the fog from her head. "Dee? What…" She tugged at her restraints, before realizing she was strapped into the dropship.

"Allie… I was on the team fixing the dropship. They… They let me come in to say goodbye."

"Dee…"

"No, it's… we don't have much time." She smiled sadly. "I know… This is my fault, no matter what you say, Allie. I'm… I'm letting you go. I hope you find someone –"

"Dee, it's _not_ your fault. You– "

"You deserve someone who won't betray you like I did." She said grimly.

"Dee, don't do this." Allie took Dee's hands into her own.

She shook her head sadly. "Even… even if we see each other again…" She bit her lip, her eyes tearing up. "I want you to find someone else. I don't deserve you. You're brilliant and beautiful and – and I threw that away when I told the Guard."

"Dee. I love _you_. I want you." She whispered, the dropship filling up.

"No, Allison. This… this is goodbye, in more ways than one." She pressed her lips against Allie's hands. "I can't… I can't look at you, I can't touch you, I can't love you without facing… " she swallowed. "Without facing what I've done. Let me go."

"Dee, I can't do that." She shook her head.

"It has to be this way." She straightened up. "Goodbye, Allie."

Allison bit her lip, watching as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a leather-bound notebook.

"I saved your notes. The guards… the council wanted to burn Heather's work, but I got this out." She handed it to Allison. "Here."

Allie took the notebook reverently. "Dee… "

"This is goodbye, Allie. I want you to move on, okay?" She forced a smile. "What we have – what we _had_ – was good, but it wasn't perfect. And that's what you deserve."

"I'm not just going to let you go, Dierdre." Allison hissed as a pretty brunette strapped in next to her.

"If you love me, at all, Allie, let me go. I can't stand this, okay? I betrayed you, and I can't let myself do that again." Tears burned in her eyes and she turned to walk away.

"Dee…" Allie stared after her, a hollowness burning inside her. "Find someone that will put you first. Okay? You deserve that too."

She smiled sadly, looking back from the hatch she was nearly out of. "Goodbye, Allie."

Allie stared after her as she left, a lump in her throat.

"Well… that was intense?" The brunette offered next to her.

Allison tried not to glare at her. "Thanks."

"I'm Octavia." She stuck out her hand.

"Allison." She nodded, gently taking Octavia's hand. "So… what're you in for?" She tried to change the subject.

She smiled hollowly. "Being born."

She arched an eyebrow. "A second child?" She guessed.

"Got it in one. What about you?"

"Unauthorized experiments on a human subject, and theft of public resources." She shrugged.

"What sort of experiment? You didn't kill someone, did you?" She asked, morbid curiosity coloring her tone.

Allison snorted. "No, I was my own subject. I was trying to increase the human body's ability to metabolize radiation."

"Oh." Her brow furrowed. "Seems kind of… geeky if you ask me."

Allie snorted. "That's one way to put it."

"Yeah." Octavia was quiet for a minute. "She was your girlfriend?"

Allison nodded, the hollowness in her chest flaring up again. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry," She said awkwardly. "I don't really… know much about relationships, I guess. But that's rough."

"Thanks." She frowned at the seat in front of her, then felt the jolt as they were ejected from the ark.

Octavia held up her fist. "Well, here's to Earth, right?"

Allison tapped her fist half-heartedly against Octavia's. "And to not dying from radiation, hopefully."

The ship shook, and a shriek left Allie's lips.

"Or from a crash, right?" Octavia said wryly.

She gritted her teeth. "I hate being in these metal contraptions. The ark is bad enough and now we're in a centuries old dropship hurtling –"

The screens flickered on. "Prisoners of the Ark, hear me now." Counsellor Jaha's face appeared. "You've been given a second chance, and as your Chancellor, it is my hope that you see this as a chance for you, but a chance for all of us; indeed, for mankind itself. We have no idea what's waiting for you down there. If the odds for survival were better, we would've sent others. Frankly, we're sending you because your crimes have made you… expendable."

"Your dad's a dick, Wells!" A boy a few rows over shouted. Octavia snorted in amusement, and Allison tried to quell her simmering rage.

"Those crimes will be forgiven, your records wiped clean."

Another girl snorted from somewhere else in the cabin. "Fat chance!"

Allison clenched her fist and glared at the screen.

"The drop site has been chosen carefully. Before the last war, Mount Weather was a military base built within a mountain. It was to be stocked with enough non-perishables to sustain three-hundred people for up to two years."

A boy with a roguish grin – Finn – drifted out of his seat to the cheers of many of the other kids, Octavia included, and floated up to Wells and Clarke Griffin.

"Hey, check it out. Looks like your dad floated me after all."

"You should strap in before the parachutes deploy." Was all he said, his face unimpressed.

Clarke noticed a few others attempting to emulate Finn a few rows back. "You two! Stay put if you want to live!"

"Mount Weather is life. You must locate those supplies immediately. Your one responsibility is to stay alive." The screens flickered, then shut back down as the ship began shuddering again, shouting echoing through the cabin.

Allison crossed her arms, hugging them close to her. Octavia reached over and grabbed her hand. "It's alright."

She shook her head. "Fucking Jaha is sending us down here to die in a four-hundred-year-old ship. The retrorockets haven't fired yet." Her voice was quiet, barely audible over the shouting match between Clarke and Wells, but terror laced each vowel.

"If we die, we die." Octavia said seriously. "There's nothing we can do except hope we don't. Fear doesn't do anything."

Allison exhaled, keeping her eyes shut, squeezing Octavia's hand. "Wow, and here I thought you didn't know how to talk to people." She said, trying for a joke.

"I have my moments," Octavia grinned, just as they crashed – onto the ground.

Everything was quiet, as everyone absorbed the situation.

"Listen – no machine hum."

Allison felt herself relax, opening her eyes to see Octavia grinning down at her. "So… what were you saying about these metal contraptions?"

They hurriedly unstrapped themselves, standing up quickly. "How about we get this over with?" Allie grinned at her new friend.

"The outer door is on the lower level! Let's go!" Someone called out, and there was a mad rush for the ladder.

"No! We can't just open the doors –" Clarke pushed her way to the front.

"Hey, just back it up, guys," a deep voice ordered.

"The air could be toxic!" Clarke finished.

"If the air's toxic, we're all dead anyway," He said authoritatively.

"Bellamy?" Octavia spoke, having frozen by Allison's side. She rushed forward to hug him.

The tall man grinned at the sight of Octavia. "God, look how big you are."

Octavia seemed to gather her wits. "What the hell are you wearing, a guard's uniform?" She asked.

"I borrowed it to get on the drop ship," he said, a lopsided smile spreading on his face. "Someone has got to keep an eye on you." He chuckled.

"Where's your wristband?" Clarke asked suddenly.

Octavia turned and glared. "Do you mind? I haven't seen my brother in a year."

"No one has a brother!" a boy called out.

"That's Octavia Blake, the girl they found hidden in the floor!" Another girl realized.

Octavia growled and went to lunge at her, held back by her brother.

Allison stepped closer. "Hey, Octavia, it's alright. There's no floor to be hidden under here." She grinned down at the beautiful brunette.

"Let's give them something else to remember you by." Bellamy urged.

"Yeah? Like what?" She was still glaring at the girl from earlier.

"Like being the first person on the ground in four hundred years." He smirked, before pulling the lever to open the door.

Light streamed in, blinding them momentarily; when their eyes adjusted, they saw trees.

Allison gave Octavia a little nudge, reassured by the fact that nobody seemed to be affected by the air. "Go on, first girl on the ground."

Octavia bit her lip, looking at Allie, then stepping out gingerly onto the ramp. She crept down, and as soon as her feet touched the dirt, her arms raised in triumph. "We're back, bitches!" She screamed out into the air.

Allison ran out to meet her, wrapping Octavia in a hug. "You did it!"

She stepped back to grin at Allison. "We did it, Al." She held up her fist for another fist bump, which Allison obliged.

* * *

Allison looked up from the ferns she was running her hands along, hearing raised voices.

"Relax, we're just trying to figure out where we are." Wells said defensively.

"We're on the ground. That not good enough for you?" Bellamy said belligerently.

Allison stood, dusting the dirt – the dirt! – from her hands onto her jeans, turning towards the brewing tension.

"We need to find Mount Weather. You heard my father's message. That has to be our first priority." Wells said reasonably.

"Shut the fuck up about your father. I like you, Wells, I do. But not your father. We're 'expendable.' Your father sent all of us down here, not knowing if we'd succumb to radiation, when the research that got me locked up would have ensured our survival!" Allison felt the anger that had been brewing inside her for ages bubble over.

"Allison, we don't have any food." He said seriously. "We do need that to survive, and as despicable as you may find my father, he's right."

"Screw your father." Octavia stood next to Allison, defending her new – and first – friend. "What, you think you're in charge here? You and your little 'princess?' " She said angrily.

"Do you think we _care_ who's in charge? We need to get to Mount Weather! Not because the Chancellor said so, but because the longer we wait, the hungrier we'll be and the harder this will be. How long do you think we'll last without those supplies? We're looking at a twenty-mile trek. If we want to get there before dark, we all need to leave now." Clarke said forcefully.

Bellamy took a few steps closer. "I've got a better idea – you two go and find it for us. Let the privileged do the hard work for a change!" The surrounding delinquents cheered.

Wells looked frustrated. "You're not listening! We _all_ need to go."

A slim, dark-haired boy – Murphy – snorted sarcastically. "Look at this, everybody – the Chancellor of Earth." He said mockingly, pushing Wells back.

"Think that's funny?" Wells said challengingly.

Murphy smirked and shoved him to the ground. "No, but that was."

Wells pulled himself to his feet, putting his hands up defensively.

The others egged the fight on, and Allison bit her lip, considering stepping between them when Finn jumped down from the top of the dropship.

"Kid's got one leg." Finn said. "How about you wait until it's a fair fight?"

As the others melted away, Octavia strode forward. "Hey, Spacewalker – rescue me next." She said. Allison chuckled, shaking her head at her.

Bellamy looked at Octavia.

"What? He's cute." She said cheekily.

"He's a criminal." He reminded her.

"They're all criminals." She responded.

"Look, O, I came down here to protect you." He said softly.

"I don't need protecting!" She snapped back. "I have been locked up one way or another all my life. I am done following orders. I need to have fun, Bell. I need to just do something crazy just because I can – and no one, including you, is gonna stop me."

"I can't stay with them, O." He said, lowering his voice even more when he noticed Allison standing close by.

"Now what are you talking about?"

"I… did something, okay? To get on the drop ship. Something that they will _kill_ me for when they come down." His eyes flicked towards Allison, who was approaching them now. "I can't say what it is, just yet, but you have to trust me. You do trust me, don't you?"

"Yeah." She shrugged, walking away.

"Bellamy," Allison looked at him concernedly. "You came down for your sister, right? Here… here we don't just float people. No matter what you did, whoever you had to steal that jacket from… that doesn't have to be a capital offense. And you are one of us, now." She reassured him.

He shook his head. "Maybe."

"So, Mount Weather! When do we leave?" Finn asked Clarke.

"Right now. We'll be back tomorrow with food." She said to Wells.

"How are the two of you going to carry enough food for a hundred?" He questioned.

Finn spun Monty and Jasper around. "Four of us. Can we go now?"

"Sounds like a party!" Octavia smiled flirtatiously at Finn. "Make it five."

Bellamy strode up to her, Allison a few steps behind him. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"

"Going for a walk." She said sarcastically.

Clarke looked critically at Finn's wristband. "Were you trying to take this off?"

"Yeah. So?" He shrugged.

"So… this wristband transmits your vital signs to the Ark. Take it off, and they'll think you're dead."

"Should I care?"

"I don't know. Do you want the people you love to think you're dead? Do you want them to follow you down here in two months? Because they won't if they think we're dying." She said authoritatively.

"Okay." He nodded.

Allison looked concernedly at Bellamy. "Hey… don't do anything too rash." She told him quietly.

"Wouldn't think of it." He smiled a lopsided grin at her.

"Now let's go." Clarke gestured out towards Mount Weather.

"Go on." Bellamy nudged Octavia forward.

"I'll go with her." Allison said to Bellamy, looking up at him. "Remember what I said."

He nodded at her, "Thanks."


End file.
